Original subtitles

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

WHEN SHE PICKED UP THE PHONE, THEY SAID,

"YOU'RE GONNA WIND UP WITH TWO BULLETS IN THE HEAD."

SHE SAYS, "I'M IN TROUBLE, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY."

HOW WAS SHE KILLED?

EXECUTION STYLE.

TWO BULLETS TO THE HEAD.

NO ROBBERY, NO STRUGGLE.

WHAT DID THAT SAY TO YOU?

THIS PERSON CAME TO THE DOOR SPECIFICALLY TO KILL HER.

FORENSICALLY, INSIDE THAT HOUSE, WHAT DID YOU HAVE?

- ABSOLUTELY ZILCH. -YOU HAD NO EVIDENCE.

THAT'S RIGHT.

SOMEONE WANTED HER DEAD.

THIS WOMAN WAS EXECUTED.

YES.

AND IN FRONT OF HER CHILDREN, TOO.

MY NAME IS ANNA-SIGGA NICOLAZZI.

IN MY TWO DECADES AS A NEW YORK CITY HOMICIDE PROSECUTOR,

I SAW HOW MURDER AFFECTS LIVES FAR BEYOND THE CRIME SCENE.

LET ME TAKE YOU INSIDE THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE

FOR VICTIMS AND THEIR LOVED ONES.

THIS IS "TRUE CONVICTION."

PHILADELPHIA.

MOST VISITORS NEVER STRAY MORE THAN A FEW BLOCKS

FROM THE LIBERTY BELL.

BUT ACROSS THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER LIES SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA,

A WORKING CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD

AT THE VERY HEART OF THIS BLUE-COLLAR CITY.

IT WAS HERE IN MARCH OF 1990 THAT SINGLE MOTHER

DONNA WILLARD WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED INSIDE HER OWN HOME...

SENDING SHOCK WAVES OF HORROR

THROUGH HER TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY.

I'VE COME TO SOUTHWEST PHILLY TO REVEAL HOW PROSECUTORS

AND POLICE GOT JUSTICE FOR THE WILLARD FAMILY.

AS A PROSECUTOR, IT WAS ALWAYS SO IMPORTANT FOR ME

TO KNOW THE VICTIM, NOT JUST IN DEATH,

BUT TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT WHO THEY WERE IN LIFE.

TELL ME SOME THINGS ABOUT YOUR SISTER DONNA.

WELL, SHE WAS SO GOOD-HEARTED.

WHAT A GOOD GIRL.

SHE WAS ALL OF ABOUT 85 POUNDS.

SHE HAD A BEAUTIFUL SMILE.

HER PERSONALITY WAS WONDERFUL.

SHE WAS JUST -- SHE WAS LIKE A LITTLE BURST OF ENERGY.

JOAN CATALLO WAS THREE YEARS YOUNGER THAN HER SISTER DONNA.

WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE FRIENDS WHEN WE WERE REALLY YOUNG

BECAUSE WE HAD EACH OTHER.

WE WERE INSEPARABLE.

THE SISTERS REMAINED CLOSE AS ADULTS.

BOTH HAD FAMILIES.

DONNA WAS A SINGLE MOM.

HER THREE KIDS WERE A CONSTANT PRESENCE AT JOAN'S HOUSE.

WE MESHED LIKE ONE FAMILY.

HER KIDS WERE SO GOOD.

JESSICA WAS SEVEN.

DONNA WAS 10, AND TODD WAS 12.

SHE JUST LOVED HER KIDS TO DEATH.

THEY WERE HER LIFE, THE LIGHT OF HER LIFE.

DONNA CUT HAIR AT A BEAUTY SALON TO MAKE ENDS MEET,

BUT SHE DREAMED BIG.

SHE SAVED HER MONEY AND EVENTUALLY BOUGHT THE BUSINESS.

TELL ME ABOUT THE BEAUTY SHOP.

OH, GOSH!

IT WAS -- IT WAS A REALLY FUN PLACE.

I WORKED THEIR ALSO.

DONNA WAS LIKE A LITTLE BUTTERFLY,

YOU KNOW, SOCIAL BUTTERFLY.

EVERYBODY CAME FROM EVERYWHERE TO GET THEIR HAIR CUT BY HER.

THEY LOVED HER. SHE HAD A HEART OF GOLD.

IF THEY NEEDED A HAIRCUT AND THEY COULDN'T PAY, SHE DID IT.

AND SHE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT.

SHE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT. MNH-MNH.

SHE WAS ON HER OWN. PAID HER OWN BILLS.

I DON'T KNOW PERSONALLY HOW SHE DONE IT. HMM.

SHE WAS LIKE A SAINT TO ME.

BETWEEN THE SALON AND HER KIDS,

DONNA HAD LITTLE TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE.

BUT IN 1988, SHE FOUND LOVE.

SHE MET THIS GUY NAMED TOMMY TYRRELL.

THEY HIT IT OFF. HE WAS SUCH A GOOD GUY.

SHE WAS A PIECE OF WORK.

SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND SHE DID IT ALL.

WHERE DID YOU MEET DONNA.

I MET DONNA IN THE HAIR SHOP.

I WENT IN FOR A HAIRCUT, AND I MADE SURE

I KEPT GOING BACK FOR FREQUENT HAIRCUTS.

HE REALLY LOVED HER.

HE WAS A GENTLEMAN.

HE HAD A GOOD JOB.

HE KNEW HOW HARD SHE HAD IT.

AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP, IT DIDN'T STOP AT JUST DATING.

IT KEPT GOING FURTHER.

WE WERE ENGAGED.

WE LOVED EACH OTHER.

SHE WAS THRILLED. SHE WAS SO HAPPY.

SHE WALKED ON AIR AFTER THAT.

SHE FINALLY WAS GONNA HAVE A HUSBAND AND A HOUSE

AND SECURITY,

AND, YOU KNOW...

AND THEN IT WAS JUST STRIPPED OF HER.

ON MARCH 6, 1990,

DONNA'S LIFE CAME TO A HORRIFIC AND VIOLENT END.

PROSECUTOR LEE DOBKIN CAN STILL RECALL

THE GRISLY DETAILS OF THAT NIGHT.

IT WAS RELATIVELY LATE IN THE EVENING.

SHE APPARENTLY WAS EXPECTING SOMEONE.

SHE GETS A KNOCK AT THE DOOR.

AND SHE'S IMMEDIATELY CONFRONTED BY A GUNMAN...

WHO LUNGES TOWARDS HER.

GRABS HER.

IT HAD TO BE UTTER, COMPLETE TERROR.

SHE TRIES TO GET AWAY,

AND HE SHOOTS HER TWO TIMES IN THE HEAD.

DONNA'S KIDS WERE UPSTAIRS WHEN THEIR MOTHER WAS MURDERED.

THEY WERE PHYSICALLY UNHARMED,

BUT THEIR LIVES HAD CHANGED FOREVER.

TODD LED HIS HYSTERICAL SISTERS ACROSS THE STREET

AND ASKED HIS NEIGHBOR TO CALL 911.

LIEUTENANT JOE WITTE WAS THE PHILADELPHIA HOMICIDE

DETECTIVE DISPATCHED TO THE SCENE.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE CALL THAT YOU GOT THAT NIGHT?

THAT THERE WAS A REPORT OF A SHOOTING

IN THE 6200 BLOCK OF REEDLAND STREET, AT A HOUSE.

AND WHEN POLICE GOT THERE,

THEY FOUND THE OCCUPANT OF THE HOUSE,

A WOMAN, HAD BEEN SHOT IN THE HEAD,

AND SHE WAS DEAD ON THE SCENE.

DETECTIVE WITTE HAS AGREED TO TAKE ME

TO DONNA'S OLD HOUSE IN SOUTHWEST PHILLY.

FOR A PROSECUTOR, NO POLICE SKETCH OR PHOTO

CAN OFFER AS MUCH PERSPECTIVE AS A FIRSTHAND LOOK.

THIS IS THE 6200 BLOCK OF REEDLAND STREET.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE?

UH, MARCH 6, 1990.

AS A SEASONED HOMICIDE PROSECUTOR,

YOU KNOW INVESTIGATORS,

FIRST THING THEY LOOK FOR IS THE BODY OF THE CRIME.

SHE WAS LYING RIGHT HERE, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STEPS.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE WAY

DONNA LOOKED WHEN YOU WALKED IN THAT NIGHT?

WELL, SHE WAS FULLY CLOTHED.

SHE WAS IN AN AWKWARD POSITION, LIKE SHE HAD FALLEN,

BUT WAS PUSHED DOWN.

SHE HAD TWO BULLET WOUNDS TO HER HEAD.

THERE WERE BLOOD SPATTER ON THE WALL.

WHAT ABOUT IN THIS ROOM?

WAS THERE ANY SIGNS OF ANY LAMPS OVER, ANYTHING AMISS?

IT WAS INTACT. THERE WAS NO SIGN OF A STRUGGLE.

ANY EVIDENCE OF ROBBERY, ANYTHING OUT OF PLACE?

EVERYTHING WAS IN PLACE.

WHAT ABOUT ANY EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT?

NO, 'CAUSE SHE WAS FULLY CLOTHED,

AND HER CLOTHES DID NOT SEEM TO BE DISTURBED.

WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE BACK IN HERE

AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS?

IT'S A LITTLE EERIE.

I'M STILL IMAGINING -- I SEE THE BLOOD ON THE WALL.

HER CRUMPLED UP.

AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW...

A LITTLE HARD TO TAKE WHEN YOU SEE A YOUNG WOMAN LIKE THAT.

NO ROBBERY.

NO STRUGGLE.

NO SEXUAL ASSAULT.

A KNOCK AT THE DOOR, DONNA ANSWERS,

TWO BULLETS RIGHT TO HER HEAD.

WHAT DID THAT SAY TO YOU?

IT TOLD US THAT THIS PERSON CAME TO THE DOOR

SPECIFICALLY TO KILL HER.

IT WOULD BE AN ASSASSINATION.

FORENSICALLY, INSIDE THAT HOUSE, WHAT DID YOU HAVE?

ABSOLUTELY ZILCH, OTHER THAN BLOOD AND TISSUE, WHICH...

ULTIMATELY, WAS DONNA'S.

NO FINGERPRINTS THAT LED YOU ANYWHERE?

NOTHING THAT WAS USABLE.

YOU DIDN'T HAVE A MURDER WEAPON.

NO.

BUT DETECTIVE WITTE DID HAVE AN EYEWITNESS.

HER OLDEST CHILD IS UP ON THE TOP OF THE STAIRS

AND WITNESSED THE SHOOTING AND, OF COURSE, SAW HER BODY.

THE BEST CHANCE YOU HAD OF IDENTIFYING DONNA'S KILLER

WAS HER 12-YEAR-OLD SON TODD.

THAT'S CORRECT.

WAS HER 12-YEAR-OLD SON TODD.

MARCH 6, 1990.

THE PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT

WAS INVESTIGATING THE COLD-BLOODED MURDER

OF SINGLE MOTHER DONNA WILLARD.

LIEUTENANT JOE WITTE WAS THE LEAD DETECTIVE ON THE CASE.

YOU WERE WORKING IN A BUSY CITY

THAT HAD A VERY HIGH HOMICIDE RATE AT THE TIME.

BUT THIS STILL WAS NOT THE USUAL HOMICIDE CASE.

NO, IT WASN'T.

THIS WASN'T A RANDOM THING, THERE WAS NO RANSACKING.

THIS WOMAN WAS EXECUTED.

YES.

AND IN FRONT OF HER CHILDREN, TOO.

DONNA'S DAUGHTERS HID UPSTAIRS DURING THE ATTACK.

BUT HER SON TODD WITNESSED HIS MOTHER'S MURDER

FROM THE TOP OF THE STEPS.

HE WAS JUST 12 YEARS OLD.

HIS AUNT JOAN TOOK THE BOY IN AND SPENT YEARS HELPING HIM COPE

WITH WHAT HE SAW THAT NIGHT.

IT WAS VERY HARD FOR HIM BECAUSE, I MEAN,

HE WAS HAVING HORRIFIC NIGHTMARES

AND HE'D WAKE UP SCREAMING.

I'D HAVE TO GO IN AND CHECK EVERY WINDOW IN THE HOUSE.

HAD TO CHECK EVERY DOOR TWICE.

TODD HAD SEEN HIS MOTHER KILLED. MM-HMM.

HE ACTUALLY SAW THE PERSON THAT DID IT.

YES.

SHE WAS IN THE KITCHEN, MAKING THEIR LUNCHES

FOR SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY.

THERE WAS A KNOCK AT THE DOOR.

AND HE SAID, "MOM, I'LL GET IT."

SHE SAID, "NO, GO BACK TO BED."

WELL, HE WAS NOSY.

HE STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STEPS.

SHE OPENED THE DOOR.

SHE BACKED UP, SCREAMING, "HELP ME, TODD, HELP ME!"

AND SHE WAS CROUCHED ON THE STEPS.

AND THEY JUST BLEW HER AWAY...

RIGHT IN FRONT OF TODD.

HE DESCRIBED THE SHOOTER AS A WHITE MALE

WITH SOME SORT OF SHOE POLISH OR CHARCOAL ON HIS FACE,

WEARING A HOODED SWEATSHIRT.

A POLICE ARTIST WORKED WITH TODD

TO MAKE A COMPOSITE SKETCH OF THE KILLER

TO DISTRIBUTE TO THE NEWS MEDIA.

WHERE DID THE DOTS START TO LEAD YOU?

YOU KNOW AS A PROSECUTOR THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE KILLED

BY PEOPLE THEY KNOW.

WHOEVER DID IT DID IT WITH THE INTENT TO KILL DONNA.

DONNA WAS MURDERED JUST BEFORE 9:30 P.M.

DETECTIVES BEGAN QUESTIONING HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS

ABOUT THEIR WHEREABOUTS,

STARTING WITH HER FIANCE, TOM TYRRELL.

MARCH 6, 1990.

WHERE WERE YOU THAT NIGHT?

I WAS A STEAMFITTER AT LOCAL 420.

THERE WAS A UNION MEETING AT 73rd AND LINDBERGH.

I WENT TO THE UNION MEETING.

AND AFTER THE UNION MEETING, YOU KNOW,

I WAS GONNA GO OVER TO DONNA'S HOUSE TO SPEND THE NIGHT.

WHEN I GOT TO THE STREET, IT WAS LIKE THERE WAS COPS

ALL OVER AND PEOPLE OUT.

I HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER BEING TOLD?

I KNOW IT WAS THAT DONNA WAS SHOT AND KILLED.

HEARING THIS...

WHAT DID THAT DO TO YOUR WORLD?

OH, IT CRASHED IT.

LIEUTENANT WITTE'S DETECTIVES CHECKED WITH THE UNION

AND CONFIRMED TOM'S ALIBI.

HE HAD BEEN AT THE MEETING AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER.

TOM EVEN AGREED TO TAKE A POLYGRAPH.

BY THE END OF THE INTERVIEW, NOT ONLY SEEING HIS DEMEANOR,

I DON'T BELIEVE THAT HE WAS INVOLVED.

BUT TOM GAVE THE POLICE A LEAD.

HIS THEORY WAS THAT HER OLD BOYFRIEND

DOUG WAS SOMEHOW INVOLVED.

TOM TOLD POLICE THAT DONNA AND HER EX-BOYFRIEND DOUG

HAD DATED THREE YEARS EARLIER, AND THE RELATIONSHIP WAS ROCKY.

TOM SAID THAT DONNA BROKE IT OFF,

AND DOUG DIDN'T TAKE IT WELL.

THE FEW TIMES I WAS AROUND HIM,

I DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY HE TREATED MY SISTER.

NONE OF MY FAMILY CARED FOR HIM.

WHEN IT ENDED, WERE THEY FRIENDS?

OR HOW DID IT END? NO!

TOM WARNED DOUG TO KEEP AWAY FROM DONNA.

AND FOR OVER TWO YEARS, THEY HARDLY SAW HIM.

BUT IN EARLY 1990, DOUG STARTED COMING AROUND AGAIN.

I WENT BACK TO DONNA, AND I SAID,

"WHY DOES DOUG, YOU KNOW, AND YOU HAVE TO TALK ANYMORE?"

AND SHE SAID, "BECAUSE OF THE LAWSUIT."

DONNA WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT IN 1987 WITH HER BOYFRIEND.

WERE THEY HURT?

NOT SERIOUSLY.

BUT DOUG KNEW AN ATTORNEY,

AND THEY ULTIMATELY GOT A SETTLEMENT.

HOW MUCH MONEY DID SHE RECEIVE?

$10,000.

WHAT DID SHE DO WITH THAT MONEY?

SHE TOOK THE KIDS TO DISNEY WORLD...

RIGHT BEFORE SHE DIED.

BUT IT WAS ALL TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

DONNA AND DOUG'S ATTORNEY WAS EMBROILED

IN AN INSURANCE FRAUD INVESTIGATION.

AND NOW THE FEDS WANTED TO TALK TO THEM, TOO.

DONNA RECEIVED A GRAND JURY SUBPOENA.

SHE SAID, "I WAS SERVED WITH A SUBPOENA.

I HAVE TO GO IN FRONT OF THE GRAND JURY."

AND I SAID, "FOR WHAT?"

AND SHE SAID, "I DON'T KNOW."

HOW DID SHE FEEL ABOUT THIS UPCOMING TESTIMONY?

I THINK SHE WANTED IT TO GO AWAY.

BUT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE.

DOUG HAD STARTED SHOWING UP AT DONNA'S SALON,

ANXIOUS TO GO OVER WHAT SHE WOULD SAY UNDER OATH.

WHY DOES DOUG CARE?

WAS HE A CLAIMANT, TOO?

YES.

SO ANYTHING THAT IMPACTS THIS LAWSUIT NEGATIVELY--

THE LAWSUIT WOULD IMPACT DONNA.

SO DID YOU GO AND LOOK FOR DOUG?

OH, YES.

WE INTERVIEWED DOUG.

HE WAS ASKED TO TAKE A POLYGRAPH, BUT HE REFUSED.

AND SO WHAT DID IT SAY TO YOU WHEN HE SAID

I'M NOT GOING NEAR THAT MACHINE?

I'D SAY HE HAD SOMETHING TO HIDE.

I'M NOT GOING NEAR THAT MACHINE?

ON THE NIGHT OF MARCH 6, 1990, SINGLE MOTHER

DONNA WILLARD ANSWERED A KNOCK AT HER FRONT DOOR...

AND WAS SHOT DEAD BY A HOODED GUNMAN.

PHILADELPHIA HOMICIDE DETECTIVE JOE WITTE

HAD QUESTIONS FOR DONNA'S EX-BOYFRIEND DOUG.

SO YOU HAD SOMEONE COMING IN AND SAYING THAT

DOUG WAS HARASSING DONNA.

YOU BRING IN DOUG, AND HE REFUSES TO TAKE A POLYGRAPH.

I MEAN, THIS GUY SOUNDS LIKE HE MUST HAVE GONE

RIGHT TO THE TOP OF YOUR LIST.

OH, HE DID. HE DID.

THEY TOLD ME THAT HE'D REFUSED A LIE DETECTOR TEST,

FLAT-OUT REFUSED.

SO WHAT DID THAT SAY TO YOU?

THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE REASON WHY YOU WOULD REFUSE,

YOU KNOW SOMETHING.

OR YOU DID SOMETHING.

TOMMY TYRRELL ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS HIM THAT HAD HER KILLED.

AND I REMEMBER HE WENT OUT TO HIS HOUSE WITH A BULLHORN.

I MARCHED DOWN THE STREET TO DOUG'S HOUSE WITH A BULLHORN.

HE WAS SO FRUSTRATED AT THINKING

DOUG HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS.

AND I WAS SCREAMING ON THE BULLHORN,

"DOUG, WE KNOW YOU REFUSED A POLYGRAPH TEST,

AND THE ONLY REASON YOU WOULD DO THAT IS THERE'S SOMETHING

THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO COME UP WITH."

BUT LIEUTENANT WITTE HAD HIS DOUBTS

THAT DOUG WAS THE HOODED ASSASSIN

IN TODD'S COMPOSITE SKETCH.

WHEN WITTE LOOKED INTO TODD'S WHEREABOUTS

AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER,

HE FOUND THAT THE MAN HAD A SOLID ALIBI.

DOUG WAS NOT DONNA'S KILLER.

HIS TIMECARDS AND ALL REVEALED THAT HE WAS AT WORK.

SO DOUG'S ALIBI CHECKS OUT.

WHAT DOES THAT DO TO YOUR INVESTIGATION?

DONNA'S MOTHER WAS VERY ADAMANT THAT,

YOU KNOW, THAT IT HAD TO DO WITH THE SUBPOENA.

AND IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT ATTORNEY, SHE KEPT SAYING.

WHO WAS THE ATTORNEY?

THE ATTORNEY WAS ROBERT BURKE.

ROBERT BURKE WAS A HIGH-VOLUME PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY.

WORD ON THE STREET WAS THAT ROBERT BURKE

WAS SOMEONE WHO COULD GET YOU QUICK, EASY MONEY.

NO MUSS, NO FUSS.

AND DONNA WILLARD HAD BEEN ONE OF HIS CLIENTS.

YES.

SO SHE HAD HIRED THIS ATTORNEY, ROBERT BURKE,

AND HE SAYS, "OKAY, WELL, I'LL SETTLE --

YOU KNOW, I'LL DO A SETTLEMENT."

HE'D GIVEN HER A PERSONAL CHECK,

AND MY MOTHER FOUND IT VERY STRANGE.

BUT ROBERT BURKE'S EASY MONEY OPERATION

HAD CAUGHT THE EYE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

FRANK PASSERINI WAS THE U.S.

POSTAL INSPECTOR INVESTIGATING BURKE.

SO WHEN DONNA WAS KILLED, YOU HAD ALREADY BEEN WORKING

ON YOUR INVESTIGATION INTO ROBERT BURKE

FOR ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF.

THAT'S RIGHT.

AND WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THESE CLAIMS THAT WERE SUSPECT?

A COMMON DENOMINATOR IN ALMOST ALL OF THE CLAIMS,

ROBERT BURKE WAS THE ATTORNEY.

AND ROBERT SEGIN WAS THE TREATING DOCTOR.

DR. ROBERT SEGIN WAS LISTED

AS THE TREATING PHYSICIAN ON INSURANCE FORMS

FOR NEARLY EVERY ONE OF ROBERT BURKE'S CLIENTS.

BUT PASSERINI HAD A HUNCH THAT NO TREATMENT

HAD ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

SO IN JUNE 1989, HE TOOK A DRIVE UP TO SEGIN'S MEDICAL OFFICE

TO QUESTION HIM.

THIS IS EYRE STREET.

AND THIS WAS THE LOCATION

WHERE DR. SEGIN ALLEGEDLY

TREATED SO MANY OF ROBERT BURKE'S PATIENTS.

THIS IS THE BRICK BUILDING HERE

WE'RE APPROACHING WITH THE WHITE MAILBOX.

AND BACK IN EARLY 1989 DURING MY INVESTIGATION, ONE DAY,

I JUST WALKED UP.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT IT WHEN YOU WALKED UP TO IT?

WELL, IT JUST DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A DOCTOR'S OFFICE.

BUT I WAS ABLE TO PEEK IN THE WINDOW.

ANY MEDICAL EQUIPMENT THAT YOU COULD SEE?

NO.

THERE WASN'T MUCH FURNITURE IN THE PLACE THAT I COULD TELL.

BUT CERTAINLY NO MEDICAL EQUIPMENT THAT I COULD SEE.

YET THIS IS THE ADDRESS WHERE THESE ACCIDENT VICTIMS

WERE SAYING THAT THEY'D BEEN TREATED.

YES, INCLUDING THE CLAIM FOR DONNA WILLARD.

IT WAS ALL A SCAM.

HOW DID IT WORK?

WELL, IN MANY CASES, PEOPLE HAD LEGITIMATE CAR ACCIDENTS.

SOME WERE STAGED, BUT MANY OF THEM WERE LEGITIMATE.

ROBERT BURKE HAD A DOCTOR AT HIS COMMAND AND CONTROL.

SO HE'D MANUFACTURE PHONY MEDICAL BILLS,

HE'D SUBMIT EVERYTHING, AND GET THEM A SETTLEMENT.

IN THIS CASE, DONNA'S SETTLEMENT FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY

WAS $18,000,

AND HER NET AMOUNT THAT SHE RECEIVED FROM ROBERT BURKE

WAS $10,000.

PIECE BY PIECE, PASSERINI BUILT AN INSURANCE FRAUD CASE

AGAINST ROBERT BURKE.

IN SPRING 1990, HE ISSUES SUBPOENAS

TO ALL OF BURKE'S FORMER CLIENTS.

ONE OF THEM WENT TO DONNA WILLARD.

THE FIRST QUESTION THAT WE ALL ASKED OURSELVES

WAS IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THERE'S A CONNECTION

BETWEEN THE FACT THAT SHE WAS SUBPOENAED

AND THE FACT THAT SHE WAS KILLED.

IT DIDN'T RING TRUE THAT AN ATTORNEY WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE

SOMEBODY KILLED OVER A MAIL FRAUD INVESTIGATION.

EVEN IF HE'S CONVICTED OF MULTIPLE COUNTS,

THE MOST HE'S GONNA GONNA GET IS FIVE YEARS PROBATION.

AN ATTORNEY WOULD NEVER KILL ANYBODY OVER THAT.

- IT MAKES NO SENSE. -MAKES NO SENSE TO ME.

HOWEVER, DONNA'S MOTHER MARIAN WAS VERY ADAMANT.

DONNA'S MOTHER, THE LATE MARIAN WOLF,

FELT THAT THE INVESTIGATION WAS MOVING TOO SLOWLY.

SHE TOOK A PAGE OUT OF TOM TYRRELL'S PLAYBOOK

AND BEGAN USING THE NEWS MEDIA LIKE A BULLHORN.

DONNA'S MOTHER HAD BEEN TALKING TO CHANNEL 6, CHANNEL 3,

AND SAYING THAT HER DAUGHTER WAS KILLED

BECAUSE SHE WAS A FEDERAL WITNESS.

I HOPED THAT BY CHRISTMASTIME 1990,

I'D BE ABLE TO GET MARIAN WOLF HER DAUGHTER'S KILLER.

HER MOM WAS UNDERSTANDABLY JUST GRIEF-STRICKEN

AT LOSING A DAUGHTER.

JOURNALIST EMILIE LOUNSBERRY COVERED THE STORY

FOR THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

AND WHAT TYPE OF PICTURE STARTED TO EMERGE?

THAT SHE WAS KILLED TO PREVENT HER FROM TESTIFYING,

THAT SOMEONE WANTED HER DEAD.

THAT IT HAD BEEN THE EXECUTION OF A FEDERAL WITNESS.

IF DONNA WAS KILLED TO KEEP HER FROM TESTIFYING,

INVESTIGATORS WERE DEALING WITH AN EVEN MORE SHOCKING CRIME.

FROM THE MOMENT OF THE MURDER,

THE MEDIA WAS READY FOR ROBERT BURKE TO BE CHARGED.

IT WAS AN INCREDIBLY JUICY CASE.

THE MEDIA CAN WRITE IT, PEOPLE CAN SUSPECT IT,

BUT WE AS PROSECUTORS CAN'T CHARGE IT

UNLESS WE HAVE THE EVIDENCE.

AND AT THAT POINT, YOU HAD NO EVIDENCE

WITH WHICH TO LINK ROBERT BURKE TO HER MURDER.

THAT'S RIGHT.

AND THE DETECTIVES HAD INFORMATION

THE NEWSPAPERS DIDN'T.

INVESTIGATORS KNEW EXACTLY WHERE ROBERT BURKE WAS

AND WHAT HE WAS DOING AT THE TIME OF DONNA'S MURDER.

OUR POSTAL INSPECTOR INFORMED US

THAT ROBERT HAD THE ULTIMATE ALIBI.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE ULTIMATE ALIBI?

HE WAS UNDER FEDERAL SURVEILLANCE,

AND WAS ACTUALLY ON A TAPE RECORDING WITH DR. SEGIN.

IT WAS ACTUALLY THE DAY THAT DONNA WAS KILLED.

I HAD RECORDED A CONVERSATION THAT ROBERT SEGIN HAD

WITH ROBERT BURKE.

DR. SEGIN WAS WEARING A BODY RECORDER.

BURKE WAS WITH SEGIN.

HE COULD NOT HAVE SHOT DONNA WILLARD.

SO UNBEKNOWNST TO HIM, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

GAVE HIM THE BEST ALIBI HE COULD EVER HAVE.

THEY WERE LISTENING TO HIM AND WATCHING HIM AT THE SAME TIME

DONNA WILLARD WAS KILLED.

THAT IS CORRECT.

DID THAT LEAD THE INVESTIGATION

ANYWHERE INTO DONNA'S DEATH FROM THERE?

A LOT OF DEAD ENDS.

IT'S STARTING TO GO COLD.

A LOT OF DEAD ENDS.

AT THE TIME OF DONNA WILLARD'S MURDER, FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS

WERE MONITORING HER ATTORNEY ROBERT BURKE.

THEY KNEW HE DIDN'T SHOOT HER.

BUT HER FAMILY WOULD NOT BE DISSUADED.

REGARDLESS OF WHO ACTUALLY PULLED THE TRIGGER,

THEY WERE CONVINCED THAT BURKE WAS IN SOME WAY RESPONSIBLE.

WE JUST PUSHED AND PUSHED AND PUSHED,

BECAUSE WE REALLY KNEW THAT HE WAS AT THE CENTER OF IT.

MY SISTER DIDN'T HAVE AN ENEMY IN HER LIFE.

DONNA WAS MURDERED ON MARCH 6,

ONLY FOUR DAYS AFTER SHE WAS SERVED HER SUBPOENA,

AND JUST ONE WEEK BEFORE SHE WAS DUE TO TESTIFY.

THE TIMING WAS ENOUGH TO RAISE EYEBROWS.

THE U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MERGED THE HOMICIDE

AND INSURANCE FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS

AND BROUGHT IN THE FBI.

WHERE DID THE CASE GO?

WE STARTED GOING THROUGH THE LIST OF WITNESSES

THAT WERE SUBPOENAED.

AND WE STARTED MAKING CONTACT.

THEY QUICKLY LEARNED THAT ROBERT BURKE KNEW ABOUT THE SUBPOENAS.

HE HAD BEEN IN TOUCH WITH MANY OF HIS FORMER CLIENTS

ABOUT THEIR UPCOMING TESTIMONY.

HE HAD TOLD THEM EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY

AND MANY OF THEM WENT ALONG WITH IT,

AND WERE WILLING TO COMMIT PERJURY.

BURKE WAS COACHING HIS CLIENTS

TO LIE TO THE GRAND JURY ON HIS BEHALF.

AT THE HEART OF THE ISSUE WAS THE DOCTOR

WHO HAD SUPPOSEDLY TREATED THEIR INJURIES.

I WAS TOLD BY ONE PERSON AT HER SHOP

THAT DONNA EVEN TOOK A RIDE WITH BURKE TO MEET A DOCTOR.

SEGIN, I BELIEVE HIS NAME WAS.

AND HE SAID, "DON'T YOU REMEMBER?

YOU WERE TREATED HERE, YOU'RE STILL TREATED HERE."

HE WANTED DONNA TO, I GUESS,

GO OVER EVERYTHING SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO SAY.

ROBERT BURKE IS NOW PICKING HER UP,

TAKING HER TO SOME DOCTOR THAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW,

SAYING, "YOU DO REMEMBER YOU WERE HERE."

RIGHT, AND YOU'RE STILL BEING TREATED.

AND SHE WAS LIKE, "NO."

THEN SHE STARTED PUTTING TWO AND TWO TOGETHER.

SHE SAID TO MY MOTHER, "MOM, SOMETHING'S WRONG."

SHE SAID, "I'M IN TROUBLE, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY."

NOBODY PUSHED BACK ON ROBERT BURKE.

THE ONLY PERSON WE FOUND THAT REALLY PUSHED BACK ON BURKE

AND SAID THAT THEY WEREN'T GONNA LIE WAS DONNA WILLARD.

SHE HAD THE POTENTIAL, AS HE UNDERSTOOD IT,

TO REALLY BRING DOWN THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE.

THEN THE PHILADELPHIA POLICE FOUND OUT ABOUT A TELEPHONE CALL

DONNA RECEIVED AT WORK.

WHEN SHE PICKED UP THE PHONE IN THE HAIR SHOP, THEY SAID,

"YOU'RE GONNA WIND UP WITH TWO BULLETS IN THE HEAD

IF YOU GO TO THE GRAND JURY."

SO SHE GETS A PHONE CALL BY SOMEONE SAYING

THAT IF YOU DON'T GO ALONG WITH WHAT YOU'RE BEING TOLD TO SAY,

YOU COULD END UP WITH TWO BULLETS IN YOUR HEAD.

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT SHE TOLD HER FRIENDS

AND FAMILY AT THE TIME.

AND MARCH 6th, WHEN SHE'S KILLED, HOW WAS SHE KILLED?

EXECUTION STYLE -- TWO BULLETS TO THE HEAD.

POLICE WERE UNABLE TO IDENTIFY AND TRACE THE CALL.

BUT THE MURDER WAS SOUNDING MORE AND MORE LIKE A PLOT TO SILENCE

DONNA WILLARD.

WHETHER YOU'RE PROSECUTING WHITE COLLAR CASES OR HOMICIDE CASES,

WE RELY ON WITNESSES, ON REAL PEOPLE.

WELL, IT'S THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING WE DO.

EVERY KIND OF CASE THAT WE TRY TO MAKE, WE NEED WITNESSES.

YOU CAN'T PROVE ANYTHING WITHOUT PEOPLE

COMING IN AND COOPERATING AND BEING TRUTHFUL.

SO THIS IS HORRIFYING THAT DONNA HAD BEEN MURDERED

TO PREVENT HER FROM TESTIFYING.

THE SINGLE MOM, KIDS WITHOUT A MOTHER,

IT REALLY RAISED THE STAKES DRAMATICALLY.

WE WEREN'T GONNA SLEEP UNTIL WE SOLVED IT.

THERE WAS STILL NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT ROBERT BURKE

HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH DONNA'S MURDER.

BUT NOW THERE WAS A MOTIVE.

HERE'S A MAN WHO IS GOING TO LOSE

HIS LAW LICENSE IF CONVICTED.

I MEAN, AS AN ATTORNEY, THINGS LIKE MAIL FRAUD

AND OBSTRUCTION WERE PRETTY SERIOUS CHARGES.

SO IT WAS A PRETTY POWERFUL MOTIVE

TO TRY TO KEEP THE INVESTIGATION AT BAY.

BY MAY 1990, THE INSURANCE FRAUD INVESTIGATORS HAD ENOUGH

TO CHARGE ROBERT BURKE WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.

THE TIME HAD COME TO GET HIM OFF THE STREETS.

WE MADE THE DECISION TO ARREST HIM ON THE FRAUD

AND THE OBSTRUCTION.

IT WAS ON MAY 7, 1990, I ARRESTED ROBERT BURKE.

I HANDCUFFED HIM,

TOOK HIM TO THE U.S. MARSHALS OFFICE,

AND HE NEVER MADE BAIL AFTER THAT.

THREE MONTHS LATER, ROBERT BURKE PLED GUILTY

TO 97 COUNTS OF FRAUD AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.

HE WAS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON.

HOW DID YOUR FAMILY REACT TO THAT,

THAT NOW THIS MAN HAD BEEN ARRESTED,

BUT WASN'T GOING TO BE SERVING MORE THAN A FEW YEARS.

YEAH. AH.

FURIOUS.

BECAUSE ALL ALONG, WE HAD KNOWN IT WAS HIM.

AND TO -- JUST IT WAS SUCH AN INSULT TO MY FAMILY.

MONTHS PASSED.

INVESTIGATORS PIECED TOGETHER A DETAILED PORTRAIT

OF BURKE'S WORLD,

BUT STILL HAD NOTHING TO TIE HIM TO DONNA'S MURDER.

HER FAMILY BEGAN TO WORRY THAT ROBERT BURKE

WOULD SIMPLY SERVE HIS FIVE YEARS AND GO FREE.

IT WAS A NIGHTMARE FOR THE LONGEST TIME,

BECAUSE WE JUST FELT THAT THERE WAS NEVER GONNA BE NO JUSTICE.

WE JUST KEPT PRAYING AND PRAYING AND PRAYING.

AND THEN JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS OF 1990,

AFTER HUNDREDS OF MAN HOURS SPENT

SIFTING THROUGH ROBERT BURKE'S PAST,

THE CASE ABRUPTLY BROKE IN A DIRECTION

NOBODY SAW COMING.

I WAS AT WORK.

I GOT CONTACTED BY THE FBI AGENT ON OUR CASE.

HE SAID HE JUST HEARD FROM HIS COLLEAGUES IN NEW JERSEY,

AND JACK FOLEY HAD JUST COME IN

AND CONFESSED TO THE DONNA WILLARD MURDER.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS RUNNING THROUGH YOUR MIND?

WHO THE HELL IS JACK FOLEY?

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS RUNNING THROUGH YOUR MIND?

DECEMBER 1990 -- NINE MONTHS AFTER THE VIOLENT MURDER

OF SINGLE MOTHER DONNA WILLARD.

A MAN WALKED INTO AN FBI FIELD OFFICE AND CONFESSED.

IT WAS JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS OF 1990,

AND A MAN THAT NONE OF US

HAD EVER HEARD OF NAMED JACK FOLEY SAID,

"I HAVE A SORRY TO TELL,"

AND CONFESSED THAT HE HAD BEEN INVOLVED

IN THE MURDER OF DONNA WILLARD.

BY THEN, INVESTIGATORS WERE FAMILIAR WITH EVERYONE

IN ROBERT BURKE'S INNER CIRCLE.

NOBODY KNEW JACK FOLEY.

HE TOLD THE AGENT HE WAS A DRIVER

FOR A PERSON WHO MURDERED A WOMAN IN SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT HIM?

JACK FOLEY WAS A...

A CAREER CRIMINAL.

HE HAD BEEN IN AND OUT OF JAIL FOR A VARIETY OF BEHAVIOR.

BUT THIS IS A GUY WHO'S NOT ON OUR RADAR.

JACK FOLEY TOLD THEM THAT A MAN BY THE NAME OF DAVID LOUIE

HAD APPROACHED HIM

AND SAID HE NEEDED TO GET SOMEONE KILLED.

THE NAME DAVID LOUIE CAUSED INVESTIGATORS TO LEAN IN.

THIS WAS THE CONNECTION THEY'D BEEN LOOKING FOR.

I KNEW DAVID LOUIE.

DAVID LOUIE WAS AN ASSOCIATE OF ROBERT BURKE'S.

HE WAS A CLIENT IN ONE OF THESE PHONY ACCIDENTS.

ROBERT BURKE REPRESENTED HIM.

ROBERT SEGIN "TREATED" HIM, AND HE GOT AN INSURANCE PAY OUT.

DETECTIVES BROUGHT IN DAVID LOUIE FOR QUESTIONING.

THEY TOLD HIM THAT JACK FOLEY HAD ALREADY GIVEN HIM UP.

LOUIE STARTED TALKING.

SO WHAT DAVE LOUIE TOLD US WAS THAT ROBERT BURKE

WAS INCREDIBLY APPREHENSIVE ABOUT DONNA WILLARD.

THAT HER TESTIMONY WAS GONNA BRING THE WHOLE SCHEME DOWN,

AND COOK THEM.

LOUIE DESCRIBES BURKE GIVING HIM CASH WITH THE UNDERSTANDING

THAT HE'S GONNA FIND A HIT MAN

AND TAKE CARE OF DONNA WILLARD.

NOW YOU ALL ARE RIGHT BACK TO ROBERT BURKE.

RIGHT.

ROBERT BURKE PUT OUT THE HIT ON DONNA.

HE TAPPED DAVID LOUIE TO SEE IT THROUGH.

LOUIE ASKED JACK FOLEY TO FIND A TRIGGER MAN.

AND FOLEY SUGGESTED A FRIEND OF HIS

WHO WOULD DO IT CHEAPLY, NAMED JAVIER LEBRON.

JAVIER LEBRON WAS A DRUG ADDICT FROM CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

LEBRON NEEDED A FIX AND HE NEEDED MONEY.

AND SO HE BECAME THE INSTRUMENT OF MURDER IN THIS CASE.

ON MARCH 6, 1990, LOUIE, FOLEY,

AND LEBRON SET OUT TO KILL DONNA WILLARD.

YOU HAVE DAVE LOUIE AND JACK FOLEY

PICKING UP JAVIER LEBRON

TO BRING HIM TO SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA.

HE'S GOT A GUN.

JAVIER LEBRON GETS OUT OF THE CAR.

LOUIE AND FOLEY ARE WAITING FOR HIM.

HE WALKS UP TO THE DOOR.

BANGS ON IT.

DONNA WILLARD OPENS THE DOOR.

HE SHOOTS HER TWO TIMES IN THE HEAD.

AND HE WAS PAID A THOUSAND BUCKS TO CARRY OUT THIS KILLING.

$980 IN CASH, AND 20 BUCKS WORTH OF HEROIN.

WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND, HEARING THAT THIS MAN

TOOK DONNA'S LIFE FOR $1,000?

YEAH.

IT WAS TERRIBLE.

I MEAN, WHETHER IT WOULD MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER

IF HE GOT 100,000, YOU KNOW,

I MEAN, BUT A THOUSAND WAS JUST --

I MEAN, IT MADE IT JUST WORSE.

ON DECEMBER 28, 1990, THE FBI AND PHILADELPHIA POLICE

ARRESTED JAVIER LEBRON FOR THE MURDER OF DONNA WILLARD.

OH, I WAS PERSONALLY THERE WHEN JAVIER LEBRON

WAS ARRESTED IN HIS UNDERWEAR UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE.

AND I WAS TELLING HIM, "WE GOT YOU."

YOU GAVE DONNA'S MOM HER KILLER.

I GAVE HER HER GIFT.

I GAVE HER HER GIFT.

GUNMAN JAVIER LEBRON WAS TRIED FOR DONNA'S MURDER

IN SPRING 1991.

HE WAS FOUND GUILTY AND SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON.

DRIVER JACK FOLEY AND MIDDLEMAN DAVID LOUIE

BOTH PLED GUILTY FOR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER.

FOLEY WAS SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON.

LOUIE GOT 25.

BUT LEE DOBKIN KNEW THAT THESE WERE MERELY PRELUDES

TO THE MAIN EVENT.

SO THIS IS THE COURTHOUSE -- THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE --

WHERE YOU TRIED ROBERT BURKE FOR THE MURDER OF DONNA WILLARD.

IT IS, ALMOST 25 YEARS AGO.

AND LET'S TALK ABOUT JUST THE DEFENDANT FOR A FEW MINUTES.

ROBERT BURKE, THE MAN THAT SAT IN THAT DEFENSE CHAIR.

HE DIDN'T JUST STAY OVER HERE.

ULTIMATELY, YOU HAD HIM UP THERE.

YOU HAD HIM TESTIFYING IN HIS OWN MURDER TRAIL.

I ALWAYS THINK THAT WHEN WE HAVE A DEFENDANT

THAT TAKES THE STAND,

I REALLY THINK IT'S A GIFT TO US AS PROSECUTORS,

THAT YOU ACTUALLY GET TO NOW

HAVE AN EXCHANGE WITH THEM, BACK AND FORTH,

AND HOPEFULLY EXPOSE THEM.

TELL ME WHAT YOU REMEMBER AS ROBERT BURKE TOOK THE STAND.

THE THING THAT STRUCK ME WAS HE WAS INCREDIBLY RELAXED.

AND SO THERE WAS SOME PART OF ME THAT THOUGHT,

"IF I DON'T CRACK THIS POISE, I MAY HAVE A PROBLEM,"

BECAUSE HE SOUNDED LIKE AN ATTORNEY.

HE DIDN'T SOUND LIKE A MURDERER.

DURING WITNESS TESTIMONY, WHAT'S BEING SAID

IS ONLY PART OF THE PICTURE.

A PROSECUTOR WILL ADVISE JURORS TO WATCH HOW IT'S BEING SAID.

SOMETIMES A WITNESS' BODY LANGUAGE TELLS A FULLER STORY.

AND SO WHAT TACK DID YOU TAKE WITH HIM

WHEN YOU CROSS EXAMINED HIM?

I KEPT POUNDING HIM THAT DONNA WILLARD

WAS THE PERSON WHO COULD BRING THIS WHOLE EMPIRE DOWN,

BECAUSE I REALLY WANTED THE JURY TO APPRECIATE HIS MOTIVE.

AND HE COULDN'T DENY, AND DIDN'T, THAT HE KNEW

THAT SHE WAS NO LONGER COOPERATING WITH HIM.

AND HE COULDN'T DENY THAT SHE WAS THE KEY

TO BRINGING HIS EMPIRE DOWN.

HE STARTED TO GET MORE EMOTIONAL AND A LITTLE BIT UNGLUED,

AND THEN I WENT AT HIM PRETTY AGGRESSIVELY.

AND I SAID, "DURING THIS WHOLE TIME,

YOU HAVEN'T EXPRESSED REMORSE

ABOUT DONNA WILLARD'S MURDER."

HE DENIED THE KILLING.

BUT HE STARTED TO GET RATTLED.

AND LITERALLY IN MID-SENTENCE, MID-QUESTION,

HE TURNED TO THE JUDGE AND SAID, "CAN I TAKE A BREAK?

I NEED USE THE FACILITIES."

WHETHER HE WAS GETTING SICK OR WHAT WAS GOING ON,

I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT WAS SUCH AN ABRUPT MOMENT,

EVERYTHING STOPPED.

AMAZING.

THEN JUSTICE CAME, YEAH.

IT FINALLY CAME.

ROBERT BURKE EVENTUALLY RETURNED TO THE WITNESS STAND...

BUT THE DAMAGE HAD BEEN DONE.

THE JURY HAD SEEN THROUGH HIS FACADE.

I DO REMEMBER FEELING INCREDIBLY RELIEVED.

I THINK WE ALL FELT THAT A BURDEN WAS LIFTED AND WE HAD,

YOU KNOW, FINALLY ACCOMPLISHED WHAT WE HAD SET OUT TO DO.

THE END OF THAT TRAIL, AT THE TIME THE JURY STOOD UP

AND SAID THEY HAD A VERDICT.

WHAT WAS THE VERDICT?

GUILTY.

WHAT WAS ROBERT BURKE SENTENCED TO?

HE GOT A LIFE SENTENCE PLUS 99 YEARS...

TO RUN CONSECUTIVE.

SO HE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO GET OUT OF PRISON.

HE'LL DIE IN THERE.

I KNOW IT DIDN'T BRING DONNA BACK.

BUT TODD COULD REST,

DONNA COULD REST, JESSICA COULD REST.

WE DIDN'T HAVE TO CHECK WINDOWS, NO MORE AT NIGHT.

THE MAN WHO KILLED THEIR MOTHER WAS BEHIND BARS,

AND HE WOULD NEVER GET OUT AGAIN.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THIS CASE, WHAT IS IT ABOUT IT

THAT MAKES IT STILL RESONATE SO MUCH WITH YOU?

SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG.

THE ONLY THING SHE DID WAS STOOD UP TO A BULLY.

AND THEN SHE PAID THE PRICE -- THE ULTIMATE PRICE.

AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE CASES YOU JUST REMEMBER,

BECAUSE YOU KNOW THOSE CHILDREN ARE GOING TO REMEMBER IT, SO...

IT BECOMES PART OF YOU, TOO, AS AN INVESTIGATOR.

YOU SAID THAT YOU'VE DONE A LOT TO REMEMBER YOUR SISTER

AND NOT JUST THE PAINFUL WAY THAT SHE WAS TAKEN.

MM-HMM.

BUT TO REMEMBER ALL THE LOVE THAT SHE GAVE YOU

AND EVERYONE AROUND YOU AND...

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU SHOWED ME

WAS SOME POEMS THAT YOU'VE WRITTEN.

YES.

AND ONE OF THEM, YOU ENTITLED "MY BEST FRIEND."

YES.

AND IN PART OF IT, YOU WROTE,

"I AM A GIRL WHO HAD A BEST FRIEND,

A RELATIONSHIP THAT WOULD NEVER END.

BUT THEN ONE NIGHT, AN ENEMY CAME IN,

AND TOOK AWAY MY FRIEND IN SIN.

IF I ONLY HAD THE CHANCE TO KISS HER

FOR THIS FRIEND I LOST WAS MY SISTER."

MM-HMM.

THERE IS NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL

THAN WHAT YOU COULD HAVE SAID RIGHT THERE.

I DID, I LOVED HER.

I STILL LOVE HER.

NO ONE TAKES THAT FROM YOU.

THEY CAN'T, SHE'S RIGHT HERE.

SHE'S ALWAYS THERE.